Twenty barely slept that night.Thomas Reed’s phone call kept returning to his mind, particularly the final statement.Your father wasn’t protecting you from Marcus alone. He was protecting you from someone who has been part of your life since you were a child.He had tried calling the number several times, but it remained switched off. Victor had also assigned two men to investigate the location Thomas mentioned, yet neither had been able to establish his whereabouts.What troubled Twenty most was the possibility that someone close to him had been feeding information to the people behind the auction.He had trusted people with access to his home, his business and his personal affairs. If one of them had been involved, the danger was much closer than he had imagined.At seven the following morning, Victor entered his study with a tablet.“Sir, we have something.”Twenty looked up from the documents on his desk.“Go ahead.”“We traced the legal office that accessed Thomas Reed’s proper

Twenty read Edward’s message several times after ending the call.Margaret had been the last person to see Isabella before she disappeared.The same Margaret who had helped raise him, who had attended to his needs after his father’s death, and who had remained part of his life for years without ever mentioning her connection to the Hale family.Now she was missing, and someone had sent him a photograph proving that she was being watched.He turned towards Victor.“Get me everything we can find about my father’s death.”Victor nodded.“Do you mean the official police report?”“Everything. The report, hospital records, witness statements, the investigation, even the people who were questioned. I want to know what happened that night, not just what was written in a file.”“I’ll contact Greg.”“And find out whether Margaret left the city voluntarily or whether someone took her.”Victor made a note.“There’s something else, sir. The number that sent the photograph is the same one that cont

Twenty remained silent for several seconds after Victor delivered the hospital’s confirmation.Marcus Hale had known about him from the beginning.He had signed the document that authorised his transfer into another man’s care, meaning his uncle had not merely discovered his existence years later. He had known that Isabella had given birth to Daniel’s child, and he had personally approved the arrangement that kept that child away from the Hale family.But why?If Marcus wanted to eliminate everyone connected to his brother, why had he allowed Twenty to survive?“Get me the complete hospital record,” Twenty said.“Greg is already working on it. He has requested the sealed attachment and the original release document.”“I want to know who submitted the request, who approved it and whether Marcus had any contact with the hospital after I was transferred.”Victor nodded.“I’ll make sure we investigate every part of it.”Twenty picked up his phone and called Edward.The older man answered

Twenty stared at the photograph on the table.The man in it was seated inside a restaurant, his face turned slightly towards the camera. He looked older than the last photograph Twenty had seen, but there was no mistaking the features. The chin scar, the shape of his face and the familiar eyes matched the description Patrick Darius had given them.Samuel Darius.The man everyone believed was dead.Twenty slowly lifted his gaze towards Edward.“You said he was supposed to take me away from Margaret.”Edward nodded.“Your father trusted him with that responsibility.”“And he never came.”“He did come. He collected the ring, but he never completed the arrangement.”Twenty looked at the photograph again. “Why?”“That’s what I have been trying to understand.”Twenty gave a short, humourless laugh.“You have spent years knowing all these things, and now you’re telling me you don’t understand?”“I know some of what happened. I don’t know everything.”“Then tell me what you know.”Edward lean

Twenty read the message again.YOUR MOTHER DIDN’T DISAPPEAR BECAUSE SHE WAS RUNNING FROM MARCUS. SHE WAS RUNNING FROM THE PERSON WHO HELPED HER GIVE BIRTH TO YOU.He lowered the phone.“Who helped her give birth?”Edward pulled out a chair and sat down. He looked considerably older than he had an hour earlier.“I don’t know the person’s name.”“You knew Isabella was pregnant. You knew she disappeared, and you knew she asked you to stop searching for her. Surely you know something about the people around her.”“I knew the doctor who attended to her during the pregnancy. I knew the hospital where she received treatment. I also knew Daniel had arranged for a private medical team to handle the delivery.”“Then give me their names.”Edward rubbed his forehead.“The delivery wasn’t supposed to happen at the hospital we had originally chosen. Daniel changed the arrangement shortly before his death.”“Why?”“He said there had been a security breach. Someone had accessed information about Isab